The Charming Churches of Perast.

The Charming Churches of Perast, Montenegro.

September 2021.

It was late afternoon in the gorgeous Montenegrin town of Perast, with just a few hours of sunlight remaining. We had already taken a cruise across the bay to visit Our Lady of the Rocks, the historic island and church. Moreover, we’d wiled away ninety minutes at the fascinating Perast Museum with its exhibits on the town’s illustrious Venetian history.

Now we set off to wander the town itself, aiming to tick off a few more of its historic churches—and hopefully find somewhere good for dinner along the way. In the off-season, Perast oozes a quiet serenity. Its clean, near-empty streets wind between elegant stone houses with orange-tiled roofs, home to just 300 residents and echoes of a simpler time.

Locals clearly take pride in their homes. Many have varnished wooden shutters, hand-painted name signs, and courtyards brimming with flowering plants and trees. At one house, a large bicycle hung from the front door. I couldn’t tell if it was meant as decoration or simply a resting place between journeys.

Just off the main stretch, magical side streets beckon visitors to take a closer look. But they’re so pristine, so charming and carefully curated, that stepping into them feels almost like an intrusion. Imagine living in a centuries-old stone house tucked quietly at the end of one of these lanes.

The Charming Churches of Perast.

As for the town’s historic churches, around 17 have survived from the fifty plus structures the Venetians built back in Perast’s golden years between 1492 and 1797. Of those that still stand in the town itself, the main draw is St. Nicholas Church, dating back to 1616.

The plain stone façade hints at the significant delays in its construction, setbacks shaped by the town’s shifting economic fortunes.

As we approached that afternoon, crossing the spotless St. Nicholas Square, it felt as though we’d stepped into the 17th century. The illusion was sweetly reinforced by the sight of an elderly woman passing by, clutching a piece of embroidered cloth—no doubt her own handiwork. A lovely, serendipitous moment.

The church started out as a modest structure until the 1740s when the renowned Italian architect Giuseppe Beati was charged with expanding it into a grand cathedral. Much of his work can still be admired today (check out the baroque marble altars), though he ultimately died before completing the project.

St. Nicholas Church (Crkva Svetog Nikole).

Later, in 1800, progress came to a standstill because of the Napoleonic Wars. I think the church scrubs up pretty well considering it was never properly finished. St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, thus there’s plenty of maritime flourishes throughout the building. What’s more, one shouldn’t miss a number of dramatic paintings by the Perast painter Tripo Kokolja.

As handsome as the church undoubtedly is, its main draw is the adjoining bell tower. At 55 metres it is the tallest church tower on the eastern Adriatic coast and showcases a number of architectural styles, such as Romanesque, Baroque and Renaissance.

Finished in 1697, its elegant clock arrived from Venice in 1730. Apparently it hasn’t worked properly since the 1979 earthquake that struck the Bay of Kotor region.

Entrance to the bell tower is a must, especially at the negligible cost of 1 Euro per person. So we paid our dues to the miserable girl at the foot of the staircase and set off on the 150-step ascent.

The Charming Churches of Perast.

They haven’t done much with the stairwell. In fact, some of the steps came littered with pebbles, stones and fallen flakes of plaster. Elsewhere, pigeons cooed from their various nesting stations, the walls and steps awash with their bright white discharge.

Happily, it was well worth the effort to drag ourselves up. The platform at the top is tiny, hence we found ourselves squeezed right up next to St Nicholas’ historic bells.

For nearly three hundred years they have announced the time and called the faithful to worship.

Grateful to find ourselves alone up there (I’ve no idea how anyone else would’ve squeezed in), we lingered, soaking up the delicious views across Perast and the bay—before reluctantly descending back into the pigeon kingdom.

Many of Perast’s churches are gracious, understated affairs—most of them closed to the public unless a service is underway. This was the case with St. John the Baptist Church, one of the town’s oldest places of worship. First mentioned in local records in 1595, its charm lies in its simplicity: a two-tiered bell gable and a modest rose window.

St. John the Baptist Church.

Another church in this bracket is St. Mark’s, built in 1760 by the master architect Matija Štukanovic. Unique among the churches of Perast, Štukanovic created it as a private church and mausoleum for his family.

A Venetian baroque masterpiece, three gorgeous statues adorn the gable. One is a resurrected Christ holding a banner of victory. St. Peter, meanwhile, clutching the keys to heaven, stands on the left. And then there’s St. Mark himself on the right holding the gospel. 

We had one last church that we specifically wanted to track down. However, we knew that it would be a visit best timed for sunset. So we put our church-hunting on hold and went for dinner at the lovely Restaurant Armonia right on the waterfront.

In truth we were expecting the place to be much busier. But we certainly weren’t complaining as we picked out a choice table and began perusing the menu.

At first we didn’t notice the restaurant dog snoozing in the corner.

According to several online sources, Armonia is another of the town’s former palazzo homes, though details about its past residents remain elusive.

Armonia Restaurant.

We had definitely built up an appetite over the course of the day’s exploring. Much to our delight, the food really delivered. We both went for the cream of shrimp soup for starters.

For our mains, Sladja had the “dumplings in spinach sauce with walnuts” (it was gnocchi).

While I made light work of the roast lamb, potato wedges and grilled veg.

Toasting to a fabulous day in Perast, we finished our drinks and returned to the task at hand: crossing off one last church before nightfall.

With sunset fast approaching, we set off on the eight-minute walk to our destination. From the promenade, a narrow, nameless side street leads the curious wanderer up to an elevated viewpoint. The crumbling lane, adorned with lanterns and bursts of greenery spilling from gaps in the stone, is a quiet delight.

The Charming Churches of Perast.

The further we climbed, the more magnificent the views behind us became.

Although it’s hard to believe today, Our Lady of the Rosary was commissioned by the powerful Zmajevic family, one of Perast’s wealthiest and most influential lineages.

Constructed between 1678 and 1687, it enjoys a prime location perched on a stone terrace above the heart of the old town. A symbol, no doubt, of the pivotal role the Zmajevic Palace family played in helping to shape Venetian Perast.

The church and bell tower, which now sits largely abandoned, is closed off to the public. Though one can take a peek at the modest altar through the iron bars.

The single chamber, once richly decorated with Tripo Kokolja paintings, stood quite bare that afternoon with only a whisper of its former glory. Family patriarch Andria Zmajević, who presided over the church’s construction, was laid to rest beneath a tombstone in front of the altar.

Our Lady of the Rosary.

Nonetheless, the whole point of a visit to Our Lady of the Rosary is to absorb the majestic views from its stone terrace. We settled into our spots just as the sun slipped behind the mountains, casting a warm orange glow over the Bay of Kotor.

In the distance, Our Lady of the Rocks and its neighbour St. George Island, lay motionless like figures in an old painting. It was a fittingly serene farewell to our time in Perast.

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